Got a major post in the pipeline on loans for peerages, casinos for cowboy outfits and a few odds and ends of alleged governmental dodgy dealing, which I’ll probably be able to post later tonight but in the mean time, how about one of those ‘did you know’ questions…

Did you know that a search on They Work For You for the phrase ‘could be provided only at disproportionate cost’ as in:

The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost

or

This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

or

This information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Or just generally, as in

Piss off, we’re not answering your question, you nosey little scrote…

…appears in Hansard in answers to written questions to ministers (in both Houses) on no less than 1,055 occasions between 7 December 2004 and today, but not once before that first date.

If I can work up the energy at some point I may just try to generate a break down by department to see preciely which ones come up at the top of the pile when it comes to avoiding the question…

There you go, that’s FOIA at work…